The Serenading Charm
by IWriteToSurvive
Summary: Someone set an old charm loose on the inhabitants of Hogwarts and Hermione does her best to avoid being its next target. Can she escape having to sing about her feelings for a certain Weasley or will the school learn that the Hermione Granger fancies someone? A/N: I recommend listening to Taylor Swift's Teardrops On My Guitar when reading Chapter 2 as that's the song Hermione sings
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Hermione's stomach dropped and her heart stopped the moment she walked into the Great Hall and spotted _them_.

They sat together at the Gryffindor table, completely engrossed in each other with his arm wrapped loving around her tiny waist. Hermione had been avoiding seeing them together for weeks now. Just the sight made her sick to her stomach. It hurt too much. She didn't want to hurt.

Hermione was doing well in avoiding the Weasley twin and his current girlfriend. At least, until today.

There were few seats left at the Gryffindor table for breakfast and Hermione was forced to make a hasty decision: sit down and eat while having to endure their sickening displays of affection, or skip breakfast and hide in the library until first lesson. A loud rumble from her stomach ruled out that option. Inwardly, Hermione groaned and sat down between Harry and Ginny, as far away from the kissing couple as she could get.

Throughout their meal, something strange began to happen. Music filled the Hall from every corner and the entire room fell silent. Then, as if on cue, a small, third year girl from Hufflepuff stood up and began to sing along with the music.

The look on her face was pure terror and she seemed to be struggling to make herself stop singing. She tried to cover her mouth with her tiny hands but it did nothing to muffle her voice. She couldn't stop singing and her face grew red as she realized this.

Finally, the music ended and so did the girl's singing. With the entire school looking at her, the girl took her seat and promptly buried her face in her arms. Slowly, talk broke out amongst the students and staff. What in the name of Merlin just happened?

Not even ten minutes later this same thing happened again, only this time it was a Ravenclaw sixth year who stood up to sing a heartfelt power ballad to his blushing girlfriend. He looked absolutely mortified at having just proclaimed his love in front of the entire school, but was quickly reassured by his girlfriend when he sat down.

At this point, the school was abuzz with curiosity and the staff began to murmur amongst themselves. Something didn't quite sit well about this with Hermione. This was clearly not normal and something was off. Weasley off

She turned to Harry and Ron. "What's going on here?" she said to them. "Have Fred and George let another one of their pranks loose?"

"I don't know," said Harry with a shake of his head. Ron just shrugged his shoulders.

Hermione furrowed her brow and turned to the nearest twin. "George," she said. "Do you and Fred know anything about this?"

The quieter of the twins shook his head and looked to his brother who shook his head as well. Hermione wasn't sure whether or not to believe them but, before she could question them further, music began to sound around the Hall again. This time, a fourth year Slytherin stood and began belting out lyrics.

Professor Dumbledor stood from his seat at the staff table and quietly made his way to the singing Slytherin. He observed the student in silence as he tried desperately to stop singing. The Headmaster waved his wand a few times and nodded to himself before resuming his seat at the staff table.

Shortly after, the music stopped and Dumbledore stood once more, every eye on him as he addressed the students.

"It seems that someone had played a rather musical prank on us," he said with a twinkle in his eyes. "Whomever's brilliant mind brought us this wonderful music has somehow magnified the effects of an old Serenading Charm. It appears to be random and I cannot say who it will affect, but I say, let's enjoy the lovely melodies while they last! They will fade eventually, likely in a week or two."

Dumbledore then resumed his seat with a smile on his face. Many students could be heard groaning and several teachers rolled their eyes. Umbridge looked as if she was about to explode she was so furious at the Headmaster's handling of the situation.

Talk resumed as normal and everyone seemed to accept the news. Hermione, on the other hand, began to panic. She remembered reading about Serenading Charms before. Most of them were designed to make an extremely emotional person sing about the one thing on their minds. Dumbledore had said that he didn't know who would be forced to sing about their feelings and that meant that Hermione had no way of preventing herself from being its next victim.

The twins must have noticed her shocked expression because next moment Hermione is being shaken out of her thoughts by George's concerned voice.

"You all right there, Granger?" he asked.

"What's wrong?" continued Fred.

She snapped her attention to them and immediately cringed upon seeing Fred's fingers laced with Katie's. Her eye s got wide and she quickly left the Great Hall before any music could start and force her to be its next victim. This sudden departure caused everyone around to exchange worried and confused looks.

Hermione went directly to the library to brush up on her knowledge of the Serenading Charm. What she found did _not_ reassure her.

The charm worked by targeting a person's deepest emotions, hidden or not. Once an emotion got so strong in a person, the charm took over and made the express it with a musical number. So, unless Hermione could keep her feeling in check until the charm faded, there was every chance she would be forced to sing in front of everyone.

Hermione sighed exasperatedly. This meant even more avoidance of Fred Weasley and that was going to be difficult. The Weasley twins were everywhere – planning pranks, terrorizing Filch, Mrs. Norris, and Professor Umbridge. It was difficult to avoid crossing their path. How was she supposed to accomplish this when she had to uphold her Prefect duties as well? She supposed she could nag Ron into actually doing his job for once. That seemed to be her only option. It was worth a shot.

A week had gone by since the musical prank had been cast on the school and, so far, Hermione had managed to escape being its puppet. Her plan had worked. Avoiding Fred wasn't easy, but Hermione had done well thus far.

Unfortunately, avoiding the twins often meant avoiding Harry and the rest of the Weasleys, too. In fact, it meant avoiding Gryffindor Tower all together. After the third day she even had to stop eating meals in the Great Hall, otherwise she risked seeing Fred and Katie together. Instead, Hermione took regular visits to the kitchens, choosing to dine in solitude.

During the week that had passed, the school had witnessed over thirty musical performances from its inhabitants. Hermione was horrified when Harry stood up during a particularly horribly Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson with Umbridge and began to sing about her stupidity. It earned him a week worth of detentions.

Hermione was doing great at avoiding Fred, but she felt guilty for avoiding her friends in the process. One evening, about a week and a half into the musical prank, Ginny cornered Hermions as she swiftly made her way from the portrait hole towards the girl's dormitories.

"What's going on, Hermione?" Ginny demanded with her hands on her hips in a very good impression of her mother.

Hermione tried to compose herself into an indifferent expression but failed miserably. "I don't know what you're talking about, Ginny."

Ginny's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Don't you lie to me, Hermione Granger," she said loudly, attracting the attention of the entire common room. "You know perfectly well what I'm talking about. You've been avoiding all of us this entire week! What the bloody hell is going on?"

Hermione paled instantly. She looked around at all the people staring at her and accidentally caught the eye of Fred, who was looking at her curiously. Her mouth went dry, her heart began to race, and she began to panic. Without a single word, Hermione seized Ginny's wrist and dragged her up the girl's staircase. Hermione heard a confused murmur echo across the common room before she shoved Ginny into the dormitory and slammed the door shut, locking it in the process.

With a sigh, Hermione turned to face her friend. She was met with a concerned expression.

"What's going on, Hermione?" asked Ginny again. "What's wrong?"

Hermione hesitated. Should she tell her? She loved Ginny like a sister and she was one of her only true female friends. She knew she could tell Ginny anything and she would never tell a soul, but did she really want to tell her that she had certain feelings for one of her older brothers? No, she definitely didn't want to tell her that. So, Hermione decided she would only tell Ginny the basics. No names need be mentioned at all.

"Hermione, what is it? You know you can tell me anything," said Ginny gently.

Hermione gave in. "I know that, Ginny. I'm sorry I've been avoiding you guys. It's just that stupid musical prank! A bloody Serenading Charm!"

Ginny's eyes grew wide. Hermione never cursed.

"Do you know how those charms work?" Ginny shook her head. "A Serenading Charm is meant to target a person's most inner feelings, and when they're feeling most emotional, it makes the sing about their feelings. It's meant to be therapeutic, not absolutely humiliating. That's why I've been avoiding everyone as much as possible. I don't want to be the next subject for public humiliation."

Ginny nodded with her brow furrowed in confusion. "But, Hermione, why avoid the Tower? No one's seen you at meals in over a week either. What don't you want to sing about?"

Hermione winced. She had been afraid that question would come up. With a resigned sigh, Hermione sank down onto her bed. "Because," she said looking down as she blushed furiously. "I don't want the whole school knowing that I – that I fancy someone."

Ginny's jaw hit the floor. There's no way she heard Hermione correctly. Then Ginny smirked. She had to find out who Hermione fancied. "So, who's the lucky bloke that managed to capture our Hermione's heart?" Ginny asked as she sat on the bed with her friend.

Hermione began to fidget with the edge of her robes. "No one, Ginny. Just some guy. He's got a girlfriend already, anyway. That's why I've been avoiding the Tower and the Great Hall. I didn't want to have to constantly see them together. I knew I would probably get all emotional and that damn Serenading Charm would pick me to sing next."

Ginny smiled sympathetically at Hermione while her mind worked furiously to think of who it could be. It was obviously a Gryffindor, otherwise Hermione wouldn't avoid Gryffindor Tower. But who?

"Hermione," Said Ginny gently. "Who is it? You know I won't tell a soul."

A pained expression crossed Hermione's face. Of course Ginny was going to insist on knowing who it was. If Hermione refused to tell her, Ginny would do one of two things; she would either either pester Hermione relentlessly until she got an answer, of she would quietly observe her and every move she made until she somehow figured out the answer for herself. Scarily enough, Ginny was good at either form of information extraction. Knowing Ginny would likely figure it out sooner or later, Hermione decided to just give in now, because if she found out later, Hermione would never hear the end of it.

Blushing, Hermione looked away and mumbled her answer.

"Sorry," Ginny said. "I didn't catch that."

Hermione took a deep, steadying breath and prepared herself for the explosion. She looked Ginny dead in the eye and said, "Your brother."

Ginny gaped at her. Of all the people she expected Hermione to say, one of her brothers was _not_ on that list. What shocked her more was that it had to be one of the twins. Hermione had clearly said the man in question currently had a girlfriend. Ron did not, whereas both of the twins did. Fred was dating Katie Bell and George was with Angelina Johnson. So, which twin could it be?

As calmly as possible, Ginny asked Hermione, "Which one? Fred or George?"

Hermione pales slightly and hesitated. She wasn't sure she could answer that.

Ginny thought harder. Did Hermione act differently around one twin compared to the other? No, not that she had noticed. Hermione was always very good at composing herself. So, which one could it be?

Hermione sighed and ran a hand through her wild hair. "It's Fred," she said finally.

Almost instantly Ginny erupted with questions. "How did this happen? _When_ did this happen? Why didn't you tell me?!"

Hermione smiled sheepishly. Ginny was not going to like how long Hermione had kept this quiet from her. "Last year," she finally answered. "At the Yule Ball."

Ginny's eyes widened. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"I didn't want to make you feel awkward or anything. I mean, he is your brother after all."

Ginny waved away her excuse. "What happened, Hermione? I mean, what made you start seeing him this way?"

Hermione blushed. "It was at the Yule Ball. After Ron was being a prat to me, I ran off crying. Fred must've seen the whole thing because he found me and told me not to listen to what Ron said. He sat on the staircase with me and held me until I stopped crying. Then we talked for about an hour. He made me laugh a lot. We were getting on quite nicely when he kissed me."

"WHAT?!" Ginny shouted.

"Ginny, shush!" said a startled Hermione.

Ginny sat there, stumbling over her words for several seconds. "What happened after that?" she managed to say.

"Well," Hermione started. "After he kissed me, he told me I was beautiful and not to ever let anyone make me feel otherwise. Then he left."

"He just left?" said Ginny with her brow furrowed in slight anger.

"Well, yeah," Hermione said with a shrug. "After that we got a little closer. He was always there to make sure harry and Ron were treating me properly. He stopped playing pranks on me, too. We used to sit by the fire in the common room at night after everyone had gone to bed and we'd just talk. We even sent a few letters to each other over the summer," Hermione paused and her expression grew sad. "But we don't do any of that now. Not since her started seeing Katie a few months ago."

On instinct, Ginny wrapped Hermione in a strong hug. Now it all made sense. She was going to kill Fred for hurting Hermione like this. How could he not see Hermione's feelings for him if they were really that close?


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

It had been five days since Hermione opened up to Ginny. Since Hermione had heard from Ginny that dinner the night before had been music free, Hermione decided that it would be relatively safe to have breakfast in the Great Hall again. It seemed as if the spell had finally worn off.

Relieved, Hermione walked into the Great Hall with a smile on her face. She sat next to Ginny without immediately realizing she also sat across from Fred and Katie. All was going well for about ten minutes then, Fred laughed, catching Hermione's attention. She loved it when he laughed. When Hermione turned to see what made him laugh so much, her insides froze. The cause of his laughter was, of course, Katie. They were acting sickeningly sweet with each other. Katie had some whip cream on the corner of her mouth from her pancakes. Fred was so kind as to point it out and then proceeded to kiss it off of her lips.

That's when Hermione's heart broke the most. Luckily, no one but Ginny noticed her reaction to the scene in front of her. Hermione was just about ready to excuse herself from the table when she caught another glimpse of Fred and Katie. He was looking at her the way Hermione wished he would look at her. Her heart completely shattered.

A sad, slow tune began to reverberate across the Great Hall and before Hermione knew it, she was standing up to sing, the entire school staring at her with shocked eyes.

The words poured out her mouth as her eyes filled with tears. Hermione knew it was pointless, trying to force herself to stop singing so, she just let go and cried as she sang.

The entire Hall was silent at the end of her performance. No one expected a song like that from Hermione Granger. Who was she singing about? As the murmurs broke out around her, Hermione tore from the Hall, wiping her tears as she went. _Well,_ she thought, _at least the only one who knew it was about Fred was Ginny._

Fred's eyes filled with concern as Hermione ran from the Hall with tear-streaked cheeks. He didn't like seeing Hermione cry. She was his friend, after all. Then, anger quickly filled him. He was going to kill whoever caused Hermione such pain.

"Ginny," said Fred to his little sister. "Who was Hermione's song about?"

Ginny snapped her attention on the offender himself and a cold expression crossed her features. "What do you care?" she asked stiffly.

Fred was taken aback by his sister's hostility. "Because, believe it or not, Hermione is my friend, Ginny. I'm worried about her."

"Friends don't abandon each other when one of them gets a girlfriend, Fred," Ginny replied hotly. "You haven't taken ten minutes to talk to Hermione since you started dating Katie."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means," stated Ginny standing up with her hands on her hips. "That who Hermione's song was about, is none of your concern. You lost the right to information on her life when abandoned her. If you hadn't left her high and dry, maybe you would have known that she's got feelings for someone who's already taken. Maybe, just maybe, you would've noticed that she's been depressed. She's been avoiding everyone for the past two weeks so that stupid musical prank wouldn't make her sing about her pain. She didn't have anyone to talk to. I finally managed to convince her it was safe to have a meal with us again, and this happens!" Ginny flung her arms in the air out of irritation. "You want to know how Hermione is and what's going on inside her head, then be the friend you claim you are and talk to her, Fred."

With that, Ginny stormed off to go find Hermione, leaving Fred and the others seated nearby in a state of shock. Fred's eyes were the size of saucers. Was Hermione really depressed? Fred didn't mean to abandon her, he just got distracted with Katie.

Instantly, a feeling of guilt overtook him and he cringed. Ginny was right, he had no place claiming to be Hermione's friend or claiming concern for her. Not after the way he'd just left her. That didn't stop his desire to know who she fancied, though. If he hadn't stopped talking to her so suddenly, he would probably know who it was. She would have told him. Fred knew that Harry and Ron were her best friends, but he also knew that she didn't feel as if she could talk to them about such things. Hermione only trusted himself and Ginny with such private information. And then Fred just up and left her hanging. He could've hexed himself. Of course Hermione was upset! How could he be so stupid? Hermione trusted him and he just tossed her aside like she was nothing. He acted just like Ron. Merlin, he was such an idiot!

It took Ginny nearly three hours to find Hermione and, when she did, she immediately reprimanded her for going outside in such cold without a winter cloak. Ginny found her beside the Black Lake. She had managed to make a sort of cave in the snow that surrounded her favorite tree right at the Lake's edge.

"Hermione!" exclaimed Ginny, her teeth chattering. "What, in the name of Merlin, are you doing out here without a cloak? It's bloody freezing!"

Hermione just shrugged.

"Did you at least remember to bring you want to light one of your fires?" Ginny asked incredulously.

Hermione just shook her head and yanked Ginny into the little igloo. Upon entering the strange structure, Ginny quickly became confused. It wasn't nearly as cold in here as it was outside. How was that possible if Hermione did not have her want with her? She looked to Hermione for answers. Hermione smiled weakly at her fiery-haired friend and quietly explained that it was a Muggle trick.

The two girls sat in silence for nearly an hour before Ginny spoke up. "Hermione," she said. "Are you going to be all right?"

Instead of answering, Hermione asked a question of her own. "Does he know? Did you tell him the song was about him?"

"No," Ginny replied. "He doesn't know. It's not my place to tell him. It's yours."

Hermione nodded while staring blankly out the igloo's entrance at the ice covered lake.

"What time is it?"

Ginny consulted her wristwatch. "Almost lunch," she said. "We should head up to the castle and get a bite to eat. Everyone will be wondering where we've got to."

"I'm not hungry," said Hermione with a shake of her head. "You go ahead."

"No, I'm not leaving you alone, Hermione. This little cave thing you built won't last forever. Eventually, you will get frostbite. It's not exactly a fortress in here. Besides, you have to back indoors eventually. I'm not letting you sit out here all day. You'll catch your death!"

Hermione smiled at Ginny lightly. "I'll be fine, Ginny. I know I can't stay out here forever, but I don't want to go in yet. I'd rather not risk running into him. I just want to be on my own for a little while longer."

Ginny let out a sigh of frustration. "Fine," she said, knowing there was no point in trying to coax her to do otherwise. "Here, at least take my wand. You have to eat something. Transfigure a snowball into a roast or something. I'm sure you've already studied ahead to food transfiguration."

Hermione blushed. She had indeed read ahead to the section on such magic. "Ginny, I can't take your wand. You may need it."

"For what?" Ginny replied. "It's Saturday. Look, you either take my wand and transfigure something to eat, or you come with me now and get some lunch."

Hermione sighed. "I haven't mastered those spells yet. Please, just go inside and eat lunch. Go get warm, enjoy the rest of you day. I'll be fine, Ginny, I promise. I just need some time to myself."

"Fine," Ginny huffed. "But if you don't come back to the castle by dinner, I'm coming back and dragging you back, too. Understood?" Hermione nodded. "Oh, and you're keeping my wand. You might need it."

Before Hermione could protest, Ginny climbed out of the tiny igloo and walked away, leaving her wand on the icy ground next to her.

Hermione picked it up and began to fiddle with it absentmindedly. All she wanted was time to gather her thoughts and find a way to move on from her feelings for Fred. It was obvious his feelings for Katie weren't going anywhere. She had to try to get over him, no matter how wrong it felt to her. Hermione couldn't shake the feeling that her more than friendly feelings for the infamous Weasley twin was exactly how things were supposed to be. Still, Hermione knew that she had to put her feelings for him aside in order to ensure that Fred was happy.

Before Ginny knew it, the rest of the afternoon had gone by and Hermione had still not returned to the castle. There were only two hours before dinner and Ginny was starting to get worried. She had been informed that Fred had been searching for Hermione all day to no avail. Ginny was secretly glad of this. She didn't think Hermione could a run-in with Fred right now.

The minutes kept ticking by with still no sign of Hermione. Ginny was starting to fidget. It was beginning to get dark outside. What was Hermione playing at, staying outside this long?

Dinner time was just around the corner and Ginny was about to go out and fetch Hermione again when Fred cornered her in the corridor outside Gryffindor Tower.

"Where is she, Ginny?" he demanded. "I've been looking for her all day!"

Ginny paused briefly, debating whether or not to tell Fred where Hermione was last seen. She quickly decided against it and instead tried to walk around him without answering. Fred was not having any of that, however.

"Ginny," he said dangerously while blocking her path. "You know where she is I know you do. Please, tell me, where is Hermione?"

Ginny stared blankly at him. Maybe he really did care about Hermione. None the less, she wouldn't betray Hermione's hiding spot. "I don't know, Fred," she lied. "I was about to go look for her myself, actually."

Fred didn't look as if he believed her.

"We should split up and look for her," Ginny continued. "We'll check all her favorite quiet places. You go check that one corner next to the invisibility section. If she's not hiding there, try the Charms classroom, she likes to sit in there and practice. Professor Flitwick loves that girl."

"I've already checked the library, Ginny," said Fred crossing his arms. "Twice."

"Well, go check it one last time, then go check Charms."

"What if she's not there?"

"Then try the kitchens," Ginny replied. "That's where she's been eating these last two weeks."

"Fine," Fred agreed. "Where are you going to look?"

"I'm going to check the Ancient Runes classroom and if she's not there, I'll go see if she went to Hagrid's."

Fred nodded and immediately took off towards the library. Ginny waited for him to be out of sight before she took off herself. She was sending Fred on a wild goose chase and it should give her enough time to fetch Hermione and get her back to Gryffindor Tower.

Ginny stepped out into the cold January air and wrapped her cloak around herself a little tighter. The wind was starting to pick up and it was beginning to snow again. The sun was nearly behind the trees of the forest now. Ginny had to hurry. As fast as she could, Ginny made her way to the lake's edge. The wind was making her face numb and it was getting darker by the second.

At last, Ginny reached Hermione's little cave of snow and ice. She dropped down on her hands and knees and shimmied herself inside.

In the igloo, Hermione had used Ginny's wand to conjure a pillow and blanket and had curled up in one corner and fallen asleep. Ginny quickly found her wand on the ground next to Hermione and said, "Lumos." Instantly, the tiny igloo was bathed in a warm, yellow glow and Ginny saw something that terrified her. Hermione's skin was so cold it appeared to be a light blue color.

"Hermione," Ginny said urgently, gently trying to shake her friend awake. "Wake up, Hermione. Wake up!" Hermione didn't move at all. Ginny began to panic. She knew she shouldn't have let Hermione stay out here alone all day. "Hermione," she said more loudly. "It's time for dinner. Wake up!"

Hermione groaned a little and began to stir. It took several minutes for her to wake fully, which only caused Ginny to worry more. She had to get Hermione to Madam Pomfrey – she was getting bluer by the second!

Finally, Hermione opened her eyes and looked up at Ginny.

"Ginny," she said. "What time is it?"

"Nearly dinner," Ginny replied in relief.

"It is? I'm so sorry, Ginny. I didn't mean to fall asleep. Let's go."

Ginny nodded. "Can you walk?"

Hermione furrowed her brow. "Of course I can walk. Why wouldn't I be able to?"

"You're practically frozen to the bone, Hermione! You're turning blue. We need to get you up to the Hospital Wing."

Hermione looked down at her hands and her eyes grew wide at seeing their blueish hue. "I think I'll be fine, Ginny. But thanks for coming to get me. Let's get back to the castle."

Ginny nodded, helping Hermione up and out of the little cave. The sun was almost completely gone now and dinner was due to start in ten minutes. The journey back to the school was made difficult by the weather. The snow was starting to come down thick and fast and if the winds got any more violent, they would surely be blown off course. About half way back, Hermione collapsed. The cold was getting to her much faster than it was Ginny because she was already so close to hypothermia when they left the igloo. Ginny helped Hermione back up and practically carried her the rest of the way.

The greeting they received upon their return was not what Ginny had anticipated.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Fred growled in frustration as he left the kitchens with no luck of finding Hermione. Where in the name of Merlin could she possibly be hiding? This wasn't like her, running off without letting know where she was going to be. She must've been extremely embarrassed when she had to sing about who she fancied. Fred still had no idea who that could even be.

He emerged from the stairs leading down to the kitchen and into the Entrance Hall. Dinner had just started and Fred could hear the sounds of conversation leaking from the Great Hall and into the entrance beyond. He was about to check to see if perhaps Ginny had found Hermione and they were at dinner when the front doors burst open with a great gust of wind and snow.

Immediately, Fred's attention was caught and he could not believe his eyes. Emerging from the blizzard outside was Ginny, her arms wrapped around and supporting an almost unconscious Hermione. Without thinking, Fred rushed to his sister's aid and gently took Hermione in his arms. She was cold as ice and her eyes drifted shut as her head fell onto his chest. She was unconscious. Fred's eyes grew even wider.

"Ginny, what happened?" Fred asked in a panicked voice. "Why is she this cold?"

"There's no time to explain, Fred," Ginny replied, panting from the task of carrying Hermione. "We have to get her to the Hospital Wing!"

Fred nodded and, without hesitation, scooped Hermione's tiny form in his arms and he and Ginny quickly moved up the stairs as fast as possible. The journey there seemed to take age and Fred couldn't help but ask questions along the way.

"Why is she so cold, Ginny? What's wrong with her?"

Ginny sighed and sped up along the corridor. "She fell asleep outside."

"What?!" Fred said, nearly shouting. "How could she fall asleep outside? It's freezing out there!"

She built some kind of snow cave out by the lake. It was warmer out there – something Muggles do, I think. I left her my wand in case she needed anything. She left hers in her dormitory this morning."

"Wait, what?" said Fred as he stopped in his tracks. "What do you mean you left her your wand? You knew where she was this whole time?! Why the bloody hell didn't you tell me that?"

Ginny yanked on her brother's arm to get him moving again. "Come on, Fred, we don't have time to stop and talk. Yes, I knew where she was all day."

"All day!" said Fred angrily as he began walking again. "Why was she out in the cold all day?"

"She wanted to be alone, Fred. In case you failed to notice, this morning was a rather tough one for her. She just wanted some time to herself. I left her my wand, I didn't think she'd let herself nearly freeze to death!"

With that, they burst into the Hospital Wing.

"Madam Pomfrey!" Ginny shouted as Fred placed Hermione gently on an empty bed.

The school nurse came bustling out of her office at Ginny's shout with a curious expression on her face. She was about to question them when she spotter Hermione on the bed with Fred holding her close. Instantly, the nurse ran her wand over the unconscious girl. For several seconds, Fred and Ginny held their breaths as they waited for the diagnosis.

"What happened?" Madam Pomfrey asked as she finally stood up straight.

"It's a long story," Ginny said. "She fell asleep outside."

The nurse looked at Ginny incredulously but didn't question her further and instead hurried off to collect what she needed to help Hermione.

Ginny sat down in a chair neat Hermione's bed, and she and Fred fell silent. Ginny glanced at Hermione. Slowly, she was getting some color back. Ginny had to do a double-take. She hadn't realized until now just how Fred was holding Hermione. He was sitting at the head of the bed with Hermione in his arms. Hermione lay on Fred's lower stomach with Fred's arms wrapped almost protectively around her. Fred held one of her hands in his, gently rubbing the back side of it with his thumb. Fred was looking down at Hermione with a blank expression on his face. Ginny could tell he cared for her, possibly even more than he himself realized.

Madam Pomfrey came rushing back down the ward toward them, her wand levitating a large tray ahead of her. Ginny looked away from her brother and her best friend. She couldn't help thinking how cute the two of them were just then. Fred held her tenderly, as if he possibly did have feelings for her. Ginny suddenly thought how perfect Fred and Hermione would be for each other. It was such a shame that Fred was already with Katie Bell.

Ginny was shaken from her thougths when Madam Pomfrey spoke to them. "Miss Granger is going to be fine. It was good of you two to bring her in. I'll fix her up nicely. You two should head to dinner now."

Ginny nodded and stood from her seat. She fully trusted the school nurse to care for Hermione, but she froze on the spot when Fred refused to leave.

"No," he stated. "I'm not going anywhere until Hermione wakes up."

Madam Pomfrey seemed taken aback at his proclamation. "It could take a while for her to wake, Mr. Weasley. I don't expect she'll wake again until tomorrow."

"I don't care how long it takes," was his reply. "I'm not leaving until she wakes up."

"Mr. Weasley, I cannot allow you to stay the night in here. Miss Granger needs care and rest."

Fred stood his ground. "I'm not leaving."

"I assure you, Mr. Weasley, I will take great care of Miss Granger. Now, you really should go eat dinner. I expect they're almost finished. I will call for you when she wakes, if you wish."

Fred thought for a moment then shook his head. "No, I'm sorry, but I'm staying. I have to. Please, Madam Pomfrey, I won't take up much space and I promise not to disturb the peace."

Ginny looked at Fred with wide eyes. He really did care a great deal about Hermione if he was insisting on staying the night in the Hospital Wing with her.

Madam Pomfrey sighed. "Fine, you may stay, Mr. Weasley, but if you disturb any of my patients I will have to ask you to leave." With that, she left to gather more potions.

Fred nodded at the retreating nurse. "Thank you," he said quietly as he gently laid Hermione down on the bed properly and sat in Ginny's vacated seat.

Ginny stared at her older brother in awe. Perhaps there was more to Fred's concern for Hermione than met the eye. Ginny lightly touched her brother's shoulder and noted how tense he was. "Fred," she said. "You need to eat. Why don't you come to dinner? You can come back and stay with her after you've eaten something."

"No," he replied firmly. "I'm not hungry. You go ahead."

Ginny sighed. "Fred, why are you being so stubborn about this? You heard Madam Pomfrey – Hermione is going to be fine."

"I'm not leaving, Ginny," he said flatly. "Not until she's awake."

"What about Katie?" Ginny reasoned. "And George? They're going to wonder where you've been all day."

Fred shrugged and waver her statement away. "Tell them I'm here. They both know that Hermione is my friend. They'll understand. Tell them I'll see them sometime tomorrow."

Defeated, Ginny left the Hospital Wing and headed straight for the common room. Not expecting anyone to be back from dinner yet, Ginny was surprised to see George, Katie, Harry, and Ron all sitting around the fire, waiting for her. Instantly they all sprang up and bombarded her with questions. Apparently, someone had spotted Ginny and Fred heading upstairs with an unconscious Hermione. Ginny explained everything to them, without revealing Hermione's affections for Fred, of course.

"Madam Pomfrey said she's going to be fine. She just needs rest," Ginny concluded.

Harry and Ron visibly relaxed at the knowledge that their friend would recover. George, however, adopted a curious expression. "If Madam Pomfrey says she's going to be fine, then why didn't Fred come back with you?"

Ginny laid back in her seat and shrugged. "He insisted on staying with her until she woke up. He said you two would understand how good of a friend Hermione is to him," she replied, indicating George as well as Katie.

"Ah," said George with a swift, understanding nod. Katie nodded as well, though her expression got sad, something that only Ginny seemed to notice.

A few hours later, Ginny headed up to bed with her head buzzing about Fred and Hermione. It was a very restless night.

Fred sat next to Hermione all night. He hadn't got a wink of sleep. He was far too worried about Hermione. Why would she stay out in the cold like that and let something like this happen to her? Hermione was not that stupid and yet, she had quite stupidly let herself nearly freeze to death. The more he thought about it, the angrier he got. Hermione had risked her life just to get some time alone. All because she had been embarrassed. Fred didn't quite understand why Hermione had let the embarrassment get to her so easily. Sure, now the entire school knew that she fancied someone, but she hadn't sang his name, so it's not like his identity had been revealed. Indeed, Fred had caught snippets of different rumors, all trying to guess who Hermione's mystery man was. Each theory was as ridiculous as the last and Fred soon blocked out the rumors he heard as he searched for her all day.

As Fred thought on this, his insides began to drop. Who could Hermione's sad love song have been about? The thought of Hermione having feelings for some bloke set Fred's teeth on edge and he didn't know why. Hermione was at perfectly liberty to fancy whomever she pleased. In the end, Fred just chalked it up to his friendly protectiveness of her. He hated seeing her cry the way she had that morning. It killed him to see her like that.

Before Fred knew it, morning had come. Hermione looked much better now than she had the night before. Fred was relieved to see that but, he was still furious with her for putting herself in that position in the first place.

After breakfast, Harry, Ron, and Ginny stopped at the Hospital Wing to visit Hermione. "How's she doing?" Ginny said gently to Fred as she offered him an apple and carefully placed Hermione's wand on the table next to her.

"Better," said Fred hoarsely. "She still hasn't woken up though."

"I'm sure she'll wake up soon," Harry said as he sat opposite Fred and gently placed a hand on one of Hermione's forearms.

"Yeah," Ron agreed. "Hermione's tough. She'll be fine."

Fred sat in silence as he watched Hermione and after an hour of light chatter, Harry, Ron, and Ginny excused themselves from the ward.

"I'll come back after lunch, Fred," Ginny told him. "If she wakes up before then, you let me know, okay?" Fred nodded and continued to watch Hermione's sleeping form. Ginny noticed the sad look in his eyes and gently squeezed his shoulder reassuringly before she left.

Three more hours ticked by before Hermione slowly stirred. Fred instantly reached for Hermione's hand and shouted for Madam Pomfrey. At Fred's voice, Hermione's eyes opened slowly and she blinked up at the man she loved with confusion.

"Fred?" she said. His head snapped down to look at her. Hermione looked around her and realized where she was and guessed why she was there. "What are you doing here, Fred?"

Before Fred could answer, however, madam Pomfrey came dashing over the check on Hermione. Fred sat back in his chair while she was being tended to. It was as if a great weight had been lifted off of his chest when Hermione had woken up. When Madam Pomfrey announced that Hermione should take it easy for a while but would be fine, Fred sighed with relief and slumped in his seat, placing his head in his hands.

Hermione was now sitting up in her bed and quietly sipping on a potion the nurse had given her. Silently, she observed Fred while he sat next to her, his head hung in relief.

"Fred," she said again very quietly. He looked up at her and their eyes locked. ""What are you doing here? Did you stay here all night?"

Fred nodded. "I was worried about you," he said quietly. "I looked for you all day yesterday."

"Why?" Hermione asked, perplexed.

"Why?" Fred repeated. "Because you ran out of breakfast crying after you had to sing. I was concerned, that's why."

Hermione winced at the reminder of her heartfelt solo. Her face grew pink and she hung her head to hide the blush. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to worry you."

Gently, Fred placed his hand over Hermione's smaller one. A tingling sensation ran up her arm and her breath caught. She looked up.

"Why did you run off like that, Hermione?" he asked softly.

Hermione's eyes grew sad and her face fell. "I was embarrassed," she sighed.

"Why, though? You have a beautiful singing voice and it's not like anyone knew who you were singing about," Fred said honestly. "Who _were_ you singing about, anyway?"

"It doesn't matter, Fred. He doesn't feel the same way," Hermione responded, her face growing even sadder.

"That's why I want to know who it is," Fred replied. "So I can knock some sense into him. He's an idiot not to feel the same way about you. And no one is allowed to make you that sad and get away with it!"

Fred meant this to be a statement to cheer her up, maybe even get her to smile. It was _not_ supposed to make her eyes brim with tears. On instinct, Fred grabbed Hermione and held her close as a few tears escaped her eyes. They sat there in silence for a few moments before Fred remembered how angry he was with her and he abruptly pulled away, holding Hermione firmly by the shoulders.

"By the way," he said in a serious tone. "What were you thinking, letting yourself nearly freeze to death in some Muggle-made, ice cave?"

Hermione sighed. "That wasn't my intention, Fred. I didn't mean to fall asleep."

Fred shook her head as if to say that her answer was unacceptable. "That's not my point, Hermione. Why the bloody hell did you hide outside in the first place? It's freezing out!"

"I told you, Fred," Hermione repeated. "I was embarrassed after singing that song. The lake was the only place I could think of where I would be left alone."

Fred released Hermione's shoulders rather roughly and let out an irritated huff. "You were so embarrassed because of our little prank that you had to go outside and let yourself nearly freeze to death? That was stupid!"

Hermione froze and her expression became stony. Right away, Fred knew he had said something wrong. He probably shouldn't have called her stupid.

Hermione gritted her teeth and narrowed her eyes at him. " _Your_ prank?" she said in a dangerous tone.

Fred gulped. Hermione's tone frightened him. Honestly, Fred thought it was quite obvious that the musical prank had been one of his and George's. Why was she taking that information so negatively? It really shouldn't have come as such a surprise.

"Yes," said Fred, faltering only slightly in his response.

A stiff silence hung in the air. Then, Hermione spoke so quietly that Fred almost didn't hear her.

"Get out."

Fred furrowed his brows. "What?"

"I said," Hermione spat venomously. "Get out."

Fred looked at her incredulously. "What are you talking about, Hermione? Why are you kicking me out? Is it because I said you were stupid? Come on, Hermione, you know I didn't mean that. I'm your friend, I –"

"No," she interjected. "You are _not_ my friend Fred Weasley." Hermione's words sliced through Fred and the stung him more than he would have expected. He tried to reason with her.

"But, Hermione, I –" he stuttered as he found himself almost begging. Fred couldn't quite put a finger on why, but knew he would be devastated if he lost Hermione.

"No," Hermione stated firmly, cutting across him again. "You lied to me, Weasley," Fred flinched at the use of his surname rather than his first. "I asked you if you knew anything about that bloody Serenading Charm the day it first happened. You said no. You lied to me, it was your prank the whole time! Thanks to you, I was forced to sing about one of my deepest secrets in front of the whole school. I spent two bloody weeks avoiding everyone so that if I did get sad enough to sing about my feelings, no one would be around to fucking hear it!"

"Miss Granger!" scolded Madam Pomfrey as she stuck her head out of her office door. "Keep it down and watch your language!"

Hermione hadn't even noticed that she was shouting, or that she had gotten out of bed and was now towering over Fred in the chair he occupied. She clenched her fists. "I'm sorry, Madam Pomfrey. Can I go now?"

The nurse hurried over and did one last quick examination with her wand. She pursed her lips. "All right, Miss Granger, you may go. Next time, don't stay outside for so long."

Hermione nodded, grabbed her wand from the bedside table, and quickly tore from the Hospital Wing without another word.

For a moment, Fred sat there in shock, no knowing what to do. Then, on a whim, he tore out of the door after her. Being much taller than Hermione, Fred was at an advantage and quickly caught up with her.

"Hermione, wait!" he said as he caught her by the elbow and spun him around to face him.

"What do you want, Weasely?" Hermione spat as she yanked her arm out of his grasp.

Fred winced again at her use of his last name. Hermione could see the hurt in his eyes but stood her ground. Fred sighed and let his hands fall to his sides in defeat.

"Hermione," he said quietly. "Are you really going to throw away our friendship over a prank?"

Fred's words seemed to echo across the empty corridor and hung in the thick silence between the two. Hermione took a deep breath. It was obvious that Fred didn't understand why she was so upset. She avoided his eyes and said, "I guess I am." She then turned on her heal and quickly walked away, leaving Fred standing there, feeling empty.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Hermione wanted to disappear and never have to face Fred Weasley again. She was furious with him for lying to her about the prank but, mostly she was hurt. She felt betrayed somehow. So, in order to clear her head, Hermione decided to take a walk around the castle. On her way up the stairs, she ran into Ginny, who appeared to be on her way to lunch.

"Hermione!" shouted the youngest Weasley in relief as she wrapped Hermione in a tight hug. "You're all right!"

"Yes, Ginny, I'm fine," Hermione replied with a light squeeze.

Ginny released her friend and her smile faltered at the look she spotted on Hermione's face. "What's wrong?" she said.

The brunette shook her head. "Nothing," she said. "I'm fine, Ginny."

"Hermione," Ginny said in a knowing tone while crossing her arms.

Hermione sighed. "I promise, Ginny, I'll be fine. I'd rather not talk about it right now. I just want to be on my own today."

"No," said Ginny stubbornly. "You were on your own all day yesterday and you nearly froze to death. I'm not letting you do that to yourself again. You're stuck with me today, whether you like it or not."

"Ginny, I'm fine. I swear, I won't even go outside today," Hermione pleaded. Ginny shook her head and stood her ground. Sighing, Hermione said, "Fine. I was just going to walk around the castle. Care to join me?"

"No," Ginny replied. "I'm going to grab some lunch. And you're coming with me."

Hermione rolled her eyes; she knew it was pointless to argue so, instead, she allowed Ginny to drag her into the Great Hall.

The two girls sat at the Gryffindor table with Harry and Ron, who were very happy to see Hermione out of the Hospital Wing. Lunch carried on as usual for the group and Harry even got Hermione to smile when he made a comment about Umbridge's lack of teaching skills. Hermione sat there, picking at her food without actually eating anything. She was off in space when a familiar presence sat next to her. Instantly, Hermione stiffened and pursed her lips together as Fred leaned close to whisper in her ear.

"Come on, Hermione," he beseeched. "Talk to me."

Hermione's expression went cold and she stood abruptly. "I think I'm going to go for a walk," she said firmly, ignoring Fred. "Ginny, would you care to join me?"

Ginny looked curiously at her friend but agreed without question. The two Gryffindors were just about to leave the table when Fred seized her wrist. "Hermione, wait!" he said desperately. "Please, won't you just talk to me about this?"

Hermione yanked herself free of him. "I have nothing to say to you," she said with an air of finality. With that, she left the Great Hall with Ginny close behind while those closest stared with their mouths hanging open.

The girls walked around the school for nearly two hours while Hermione explained everything to Ginny.

Fred's heart sank as he watched one of his best friends leave the Hall with his little sister.

"Woah," said Harry with wide eyes as he stared after his best friend.

"Bloody hell, mate," Ron agreed. "What did you do to her?"

Fred sank onto the bench and ran his hand through his hair. "I don't know," he said honestly with a sigh. "She's mad at me for our little musical prank, I guess."

"Really?" George said as he claimed the seat beside his twin. "I thought it was pretty obvious that was one of ours."

Fred nodded in agreement. "So did I. She's mad because we told her it wasn't us. She called me a liar and stormed off saying I was no longer her friend."

George kind of shrugged a little and stabbed a biscuit with his fork. Ron, on the other hand, tried to reassure his older brother. "Ah, don't worry about it, mate. She'll come 'round eventually. She didn't mean what she said."

Fred, however, seemed much less certain about that. He knew he lost her.

Weeks passed before Hermione would even look at Fred and whenever she did, it was always with a blank expression. For some reason, Harry kept pairing them together during Dumbledore's Army meetings. Hermione strongly suspected that Harry was trying to get them to be friends again. Bless him.

They were practicing the Patronus Charm one meeting when Hermione pulled Fred aside. "Look," she said quietly to him as everyone started practicing. "Harry keeps pairing us together on purpose. Probably trying to get us on good terms again. So, let's just make the best of this and try to be civil with each other, all right?'

Fred looked at her in a defeated sort of way. She really didn't want to be his friend anymore. He tried for weeks to get her to speak to him but she refused. And now, all she was willing to do was be 'civil' with him. How was he ever going to get his friend back if she wasn't even willing to meet his eyes when they spoke? Fred hung his head in sadness. If he ever wanted them to be friends again, he would have to play by her rules. He would have to give her space and let her come to him. It could be years before Hermione forgave him; she was so stubborn.

Fred's shoulders slumped and he let out a sigh. "Okay," he said.

Hermione nodded and stood up straight. "Let's practice the charm then. You first."

Fred hesitated. "Do you think you could go first? I need time to think of my happiest memory." Fred could feel his neck burning from embarrassment.

Hermione paused briefly. She wasn't sure she could produce a patronus just yet. She didn't honestly think that her happiest memories would be strong enough and she was nervous to try it. Especially in front of Fred. Hermione nodded anyway and took her position with her wand raised. Taking a deep breath and furrowing her brow in concentration, Hermione focused all her energy on the memory of when she got her Hogwarts letter. "Expecto Patronum," she said.

Nothing happened.

Hermione tried it three more times before Fred suggested that she try another memory. Hermione nodded in agreement and instead focused on a memory gained only a few months previously when her parents told her that she was going to be a big sister come April. Hermione smiled warmly to herself at the thought of reading stories to her new baby brother or sister. She tried to cast the spell again and this time a wisp of silvery light emerged from her wand. Her eyes lit up and she tried it again, concentrating more on becoming a big sister. Unfortunately, even after a dozen more tries, Hermione still couldn't produce more than a silver light from her wand.

Fred could tell that Hermione's confidence was faltering so, he quietly walked up behind her and gently placed his hands on her shoulders. "Relax, Hermione," he whispered encouragingly in her ear. He could feel her stiffen instantly at his touch. "Just relax. Think of the one memory that makes you happiest. Remember that happy feeling and let it fill you up until you're bursting with it. What's your favorite memory, Hermione?"

Listening to Fred's words, Hermione slowly relaxed and allowed her mind to wander to the one memory she was trying so hard _not_ to think of. _The Yule Ball. The kiss. Fred's lips on hers in a slow, heart-stopping, breathtaking kiss. His fingers lightly brushed her cheeks, making her eyes flutter closed. For about ten glorious seconds, the whole of Hogwarts stood still and the only thing that mattered was the movement of Fred's soft lips on hers. Then, too quickly, it was over and Hermione opened her eyes to see Fred smiling kindly at her before he simply walked away._

Hermione shivered with delight at the memory and suddenly became very aware of Fred standing so close to her.

"Do you have a memory?" Fred asked, keenly aware of Hermione's sudden change in demeanor. She nodded numbly. "Good," he continued. "Now concentrate on it with everything you've got and try it again."

The scene began to play again in her mind's eye and her heart began to pound. She could see Fred move to stand beside her and she could feel his eyes on her. Hermione took a deep breath and closed her eyes. It was getting harder to keep her composure. As the memory replayed itself Hermione could feel herself reliving every sensation. She could feel every touch, hear every sound, smell the soft scent of sandalwood that came off of Fred. As pleasant as the memory was, it soon became too much to handle and Hermione felt herself begin to fall apart. Fred felt her tremble again and he couldn't help but wonder what memory she was thinking of. It had to be something intimately special to make her shiver like that.

Hermione could feel herself fill up with the best emotions she had ever experienced immediately followed by some of the worst things she had ever felt. Hermione's hand began to shake and she realized she couldn't hold her wand steady. She shook her head.

"No," she whispered. "It's your turn."

Fred looked at her, confused. "But, Hermione," he said incredulously. "You almost had it! You were so close. Just give it one more –"

"No," she said a little more firmly. "I don't want to try again. It's your turn."

"Why not?" Fred questioned with furrowed brows.

Hermione looked him in the eye for the first time since she was in the Hospital Wing. Fred could see her eyes swimming with emotions he couldn't recognize. "Because," she said softly. The broken sound of her voice nearly made Fred cringe. "Some memories aren't worth remembering when they cause too much pain."

She looked away as a tear escaped her eye. Fred reached out to her before she could completely shut him out and he gently wiped away the single tear and softly inquired. "Hermione, what's wrong? You can tell me."

Hermione flinched away from his touch. "Don't worry about me," she said. "It's your turn to try the spell."

Fred hesitated. He knew she was hiding the truth from him and he wanted nothing more than to demand she tell him what was going on, but he knew she wouldn't speak to him at all if he kept pushing her. With a slightly agitated sigh, Fred positioned himself to practice the spell.

Fred closed his eyes and thought for a moment. What was his happiest memory? Fred's mind wondered to many fond memories, but none of them compared to the day Katie agreed to be his girlfriend. So, he focused on that happy moment and tried to conjure his own patronus. Fred tried and tried again, he even changed memories. Still, nothing happened.

Hesitantly, Hermione stepped toward him and echoed his earlier encouragements. "Concentrate," she said. "You can do this. Remember a moment when you couldn't stop smiling and you weren't entirely sure why. Think of a memory that still makes your heart skip a beat and lifts your spirit. Remember the one moment that you promised yourself you would never forget. You can do it. Keep trying."

Fred looked at her, stunned. For a moment all he could do was stare into her eyes. Fred nodded, closed his eyes, and put every ounce of effort he could muster into his favorite memory. He could feel the energy vibrate within him as he cast the spell one more time. His efforts were rewarded when a shining silver fox burst forth.

Fred's eyes lit up at his success and Hermione smiled, trying her best to look happy. "I knew you could do it," she said gently. She couldn't quite hide the pained expression from her face and, as a result, Fred's face fell and his patronus dissipated into silver smoke.

The meeting concluded before Fred could say another word to Hermione. He watched on in his own misery and puzzlement as Hermione slipped out of the Room of Requirement with his younger brother. Why was she so broken? He didn't know how, but Fred knew that by some means it was his fault. Fred sighed. Was she going to hate him forever?


End file.
